Decision Time: Don't Panic!

At about 40 minutes into the cult classic comedy Galaxy Quest, character Guy Fleegman panics! He is convinced that he’s going to die on a remote planet. Here’s that brief conversation between other crew members and Guy.

Jason Nesmith: You're not gonna die on the planet, Guy.
Guy Fleegman: I'm not? Then what's my last name?
Jason Nesmith: It's, uh, uh, I don't know.
Guy Fleegman: Nobody knows. Do you know why? Because my character isn't important enough for a last name, because I'm gonna die five minutes in!
Gwen DeMarco: Guy, you have a last name.
Guy Fleegman: DO I? DO I?

Guy’s panic attacks are of the comedic element of the movie. Of course, he has a last name. But in this scene, the emotions of the moment got the best of Guy and he went into panic mode. If you haven’t seen the movie, you’re missing a classic.

Many people are taught to control their emotions. They are told that there is no place for feelings in leadership and certainly no place for emotions in decision making. As the logic goes: emotions only cloud the judgment of a decision maker.

Dr. Susan David of Harvard Medical School begs to differ. In her research on emotional agility, Dr. David suggests that emotions are an essential part of the decision-making process. According to David, instead of burying or denying their emotions, decision-makers should look at emotions as a source of data that can help them make better decisions.

Though I hadn’t heard of Dr. David’s research at the time, I do remember a time when was helping a family walk through a decision about their child’s schooling. Another student was bulling their child in school, and they were investigating their options. When I heard the story, I felt myself becoming very angry. I felt a sense of panic!

At that point, I paused for a moment, took a deep breath and realized that my strong emotion was coming, in part, from my sense of justice, my sense of wanting to protect a child and my desire to help the parents. But I also realized the emotion was, in part, connected to something that happened when I was in junior high school. There was this bully, and some of my friends and I were the recipients of his aggressive behavior. That was a long time ago! But, I realized that part of my strong reaction at the present was connected to an experience I had in the past. If I wouldn’t have paused to recognize my emotion and it’s connection to the present and past, my judgment could have easily been clouded. By the way, their child’s story has a very happy ending.

If you’re interested on how emotions can impact your life and decision making, here’s a link to a quiz developed by Dr. David. “The Emotional Agility Quiz gives you personalized feedback on how to be more effective with your thoughts and emotions, so you can come to your everyday choices and your life with more intention and insight.” I’ve taken it. It’s pretty good!

When faced with a difficult decision, stop for a moment, reflect and ask yourself: “What is it that makes the decision difficult?” “What in this situation is causing me to feel this way?” Our emotions—even PANIC— can help us understand what is important to us, and can help us move forward in decision making.